Brothers
by stargate6525
Summary: Mike has a brother? Harvey can't help but try and find out who it is. Does have a bit of a white collar crossover.
1. Chapter 1

**Just a fun little one shot that has been running through my head for a while now.**

Brothers

Harvey looked up as Mike Ross barreled into his office, without knocking, and slapped down the files that he needed for court that day.

"Here," Mike said a bit breathlessly. "Did you need anything else?" he asked.

"No," Harvey said, "We're leaving at…" he paused, looking up and seeing Mike's suit. It wasn't one of his average cheap suits. This suit was expensive and nicely tailored, just a little loose on Mike, but not bad.

"Where'd you get the suit?" he asked.

Mike paused, before realizing what Harvey was talking about. "Oh. I was running late and just grabbed one from the closet. Guess I didn't realize which one," Mike shrugged. "Leaving at ten thirty, right?"

"Who else would have a suit in your closet?" Harvey asked, confused.

"My brother," Mike answered simply, before turning to leave.

Harvey sat there, frozen. Mike had a brother?

It was a couple of weeks after the suit incident and Harvey had yet to get any more information out of Mike as to who his brother might be. Not even the first letter of a name. Harvey had been trying, though - so had Donna; they were curious.

It was going on ten thirty at night and they were working late in Harvey's office when Mike's phone went off. Mike looked down at who it was, before flipping it open. "What do you want?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

Harvey stopped reading through the file he had in his hands and looked up at Mike.

"No. I already told you, I'm working late…. Because I have work to do…. I don't know, a while probably." Mike seemed to become rather agitated by the phone call, and Harvey couldn't help but pay close attention and try to listen in on the other side of the conversation. "Yes, I know I need to sleep….. I was home last night!... I was still home. … Working at the table is still being at home… Oh, please! You work all-nighters too… That has nothing to do with it… That's not fair! This is not a double standard!" Mike stopped talking and listened for a minute, before looking down at his watch and sighing. "Fine. I'll be home by eleven thirty," Mike gave in, hanging up the phone.

"Your brother?" Harvey asked curiously.

Mike glared at Harvey, before giving a reluctant nod. "I have to go. I'll take these with me and see what I can't come up with," Mike sighed as he started to gather a large amount of files to put into his messenger bag.

Harvey took the files from Mike. "Go home," he instructed.

"I can take these," Mike said.

"Go home and get some sleep," Harvey said - more like ordered - softly.

Mike glared at him, but left the room. "See you tomorrow," he called as he left.

Harvey shook his head. He hadn't known that Mike had worked all night last night. Mike had pulled an all-nighter the night before, which meant that it would have been over 48 hours since he had last slept - not healthy. Harvey made a mental note to keep a closer eye on Mike as well as being thankful for the fact that Mike had a caring brother, and an older brother from the sounds of it.

It was another month of prodding and questioning before Harvey even got to see Mike's new living arrangements.

Mike had been at the firm for three days straight working on a case. It was finally finished - won, of course -and now he could go home and crash. He and Harvey headed out of the building together and Harvey was surprised when Mike went straight to his bike, completely ignoring the torrential downpour coming out of the skies.

"Hey," Harvey said, grabbing Mike's arm before he even got to the bike rack.

"Huh," Mike said, startling out of whatever was going through his head.

"You're not biking home in this," Harvey stated, pulling Mike towards Ray's car.

"Through what?" it took him a minute to get it. "Oh, you mean the rain?" he asked as Harvey pushed him into the car and told him to slide over.

"The 'rain' is a downpour. You'd catch pneumonia if you tried to bike home in this," Harvey said as he told Ray to head to Mike's apartment.

"Wait," Mike said.

"Mike, I'm taking you home deal with it," Harvey said, annoyed.

"OK. Fine, but I've moved," Mike said.

Harvey was a bit surprised at that. "So you moved in with your brother?" he asked curiously.

Mike sighed, but nodded in the affirmative, before giving Ray the new address.

To say Harvey was surprised when they pulled up outside of a beautiful four-story house in one of the richest neighborhoods in New York was an understatement, but he didn't even have time to make a comment before Mike was out the car and heading to the door.

It was another six weeks before Harvey got his next clue. He had told Donna about Mike's new living conditions, and the two of them had poured over everything they could find only to realize that Mike had absolutely no relation to June Ellington – the lady who owned the house - and were thus no closer to finding out who Mike's bother was.

Harvey and Mike were currently finishing up the paperwork for yet another near-impossible case that they had, of course, won. It was going on midnight and Harvey was planning on sending Mike home and telling him that he had the weekend off once they had put the final touches on the paperwork. He had actually gotten so far as to open his mouth to inform Mike when a strange man barged into the room.

"Oh," the man said upon seeing them. He was short, bald, wearing glasses and a janitor's uniform. Harvey just brushed him off as a night janitor.

"It's no prob…" Harvey started, but he was cut off.

"What are you doing here?" Mike asked in an annoyed tone.

The man rolled his eyes and turned to Mike. "I was merely checking things out."

"Why?" Mike asked, dragging the word out slightly.

"Curiosity," the man responded shrugging as though it were a perfectly acceptable answer.

Harvey sat there and watched the two in confusion as they went back and forth, Mike calling the man on his lies and the man coming up with different excuses as to why he was currently standing in the office apparently posing as a janitor.

When the man's excuses started to become, well, crazy, (seriously, the man was rattling on about some of the strangest conspiracy theories he had ever heard. He could have sworn that he heard the words 'poison' and 'snow' in the same sentence as 'government's doing') Harvey stepped in.

"Who are you?" Harvey asked, suddenly bringing both men out of their argument.

"He's just leaving," Mike responded before the man could answer.

"Right. Well, I'll see you later, then," the man said.

"Is this your brother?" Harvey asked. He had thought that Mike's brother was taller and skinnier based on the suit he'd seen Mike wear.

"No!" Both men responded immediately shooting him looks as though he'd lost his mind. Harvey had a slight issue with a man who clearly didn't have a firm grip on reality insinuating that _he _was mentally unstable.

"Well, then who is he?" Harvey asked again.

"He's…" Mike visibly hesitated, seeming to debate something for a moment, before sighing and dropping his shoulders. "He's my brother's friend."

OK, they were getting somewhere. "And his name is…" Harvey prodded.

"Dante Habersham," the man said, holding out his hand.

Well, that was a lie. "Want to try that again?" he asked Mike, completely ignoring the other man.

"I didn't try anything to begin with," Mike retorted.

"Well, he's better than the suit," the man – not Dante – said.

Mike shrugged, "Never said he was stupid."

"No, no, you didn't."

"Who are you?" Harvey asked, louder this time.

"Is something wrong here?" Jessica interrupted, poking her head into Harvey's office and shooting a confused look at the strange man standing there.

"No. We were just leaving," Mike said, standing up and handing the now completed files to Harvey. "See you tomorrow," he waved as he gestured for the man to follow him.

Harvey was completely stunned.

He hadn't expected that. He was so shocked that he'd even forgotten to tell Mike that he didn't need to come in for the next three days.

Once Harvey had given Jessica a - somewhat - believable excuse, he headed down to where Ray was waiting. "I need to see Mike," he said to his driver.

Ten minutes later, Harvey was knocking on the door to the mansion that Mike now called home. Seriously, who the hell was his brother and what could he possibly do in order to afford such a place?

"Can I help you?" a man asked.

Harvey took a good look at the man standing in front of him. He was about an inch taller than Mike; he had brown hair and blue eyes. The man was wearing a nicely tailored suit, not unlike the one that Mike had worn on that first day. Without even having to ask, Harvey just knew. "I take it you're Mike's brother?"

"Do I know you?" the man asked.

"My name is Harvey Specter. I'm Mike's boss," Harvey said, offering his hand.

"Oh," the man said, smiling and shaking his hand. "I'm Neal Caffrey. Mike's older brother."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

On Monday morning Harvey waited until Mike had fully shut the door to his office before laying into the kid. "Your brother is a PROFESSIONAL THIEF!"

Mike sighed, but he seemed to resin himself to answering nonetheless, "Alleged professional thief. He was only ever convicted of bond forgery."

Harvey rolled his eyes. Really? "Your brother has committed-"

"Allegedly committed," Mike corrected.

"Allegedly committed," Harvey appeased, "Over a hundred crimes on four different continents."

Mike shrugged, "Point being?"

Harvey couldn't believe the kid. His brother was an international criminal; How could he miss the point? "Are you being intentionally dense?"

"No. I just fail to see what my brother's alleged rap sheet has to do with my working for you?"

"It has… It's…" Harvey paused. Technically, it had nothing to do with Mike working for him, but still it was the principal of the thing.

"Well?" Mike prodded.

"Did you participate in any of his … 'alleged' crimes?"

Mike scoffed, "Neal wouldn't let me to participate in his alleged crimes."

Harvey nodded in acceptance. At least Mike hadn't committed any crimes. Well…not any crimes with his brother. Mike had been about to deal pot when they'd met and he had been taking the LSAT's for others to make money. Mike's hands weren't completely clean, but they also weren't in the same league as what Neal had done or allegedly done if he was going to be politically correct.

Harvey gathered himself as he watched his associate. "Fine," was all that he was able to grit out.

Mike had taken that as his queue to leave and gathered up the files on the edge of Harvey's desk. Harvey watched as Mike was signalled over by Donna, stood there for thirty seconds and then practically ran away from Donna. Harvey found him five hours later hiding out in the file room.

That was the last time that Harvey had troubled himself with Mike's brother. There were numerous cases on his plate and with the mystery solved, Harvey just wasn't that interested anymore. So long as Mike did his work, they had no issues.

It had been three months since Harvey had met Neal and there hadn't been any issues since. Work had continued as usual and his life returned to normal. In fact, Harvey had almost forgotten that Mike even had a brother.

It was morning and they were currently sitting in Harvey's office going over merger paperwork when Mike's phone went off. Harvey watched as Mike checked the caller ID, before deciding to answer.

"Hello?"

The kid seemed to be annoyed. Harvey wondered who could cause that kind of reaction.

"What?!" Mike exclaimed shooting up from the couch, "Why the hell would he agree to meet with Wilkes?!"

Harvey watched with interest as Mike started pacing. Who the hell was Wilkes? Who had gone to meet with this Wilkes? Who would Mike get this worked up over? Mike's grandmother had passed a few months prior, so who else… OH.

"The last time he saw Wilkes was when Wilkes tried to shoot him!" Mike hissed.

That got Harvey's attention but Mike was still talking away on the phone and as it seemed to be a rather important conversation Harvey decided not to interrupt.

"How stupid can he be? ... I don't care what the rea… Are you sure that's why?" Mike sighed. "Alright, I get it… Yeah, I'm coming," With that, Mike hung up the phone.

"Is there a problem?" Harvey asked as calmly as possible.

Mike started and looked at Harvey as though he'd forgotten the man was even there. "Uh… I gotta go."

Mike was out the door before Harvey could even react.

Harvey hadn't been able to focus all day. Mike had rushed out of the office after a rather disturbing phone call. Harvey had yet to completely identify who was on the phone or who was the one in danger, but he had a good guess.

The second that Mike had left, Donna had barged in and chewed Harvey out. She hadn't liked that Mike was allowed to head off somewhere with a man who had no issues attempting, and most likely succeeding at times, to kill someone.

Naturally, Donna and Harvey had researched a 'Wilkes' – seriously, they didn't even know if it was a first name or a last – and came up with next to nothing. After their fruitless search, the two were left to do nothing but worry and pace. Mike wasn't responding to texts and he wasn't answering his phone, much to their chagrin.

Finally, after over ten hours of waiting and worrying, Mike walked back into the firm. Donna immediately grabbed the kid and dragged him into Harvey's office.

"Ow, Donna!" Mike whined.

"Where the hell have you been?" Donna demanded.

Mike looked from Harvey to Donna apologetically. "I can't tell you."

"Excuse me?" Harvey said in warning.

Mike sighed and hung his head. "I can't tell you."

"What do you mean you can't tell us?!" Donna exclaimed as she started to lecture Mike on how worried they'd been and how stupid it had been to go off after someone with a gun. Mike stood there and looked shameful, but steadfastly refused to give anything away.

Harvey just stood back and let Donna go, knowing that it would be a sure death sentence to interrupt her when she was this irate. As the lecture stretched past the twenty-minute mark, Harvey started to become a little bored. He looked around his office before turning his attention to the rest of the firm. Everything looked calm and boring until Harvey caught a glimpse of someone he'd never thought he'd see standing in the middle of PearsonHardman.

"…It was a stupid foolish idea," Donna ranted.

"Donna," Harvey called, getting no response. "Donna!" he called again.

The woman finally started and rounded on Harvey, angry at being interrupted, "What?"

"Mike has a visitor," Harvey answered simply.

Mike's head shot up to give Harvey a quizzical look, before following the man's gaze to the hall. "Neal!" Mike shouted as soon as he caught sight of his brother.

Neal's head jerked up at Mike's muffled shout (Harvey's office walls were thick, but Mike could be rather loud when he wanted to) and a large smile spread across the man's face.

"Is that..?" Donna wondered as they watched Neal walk into Harvey's office.

Harvey shook his head. "Does no one in your family knock?"

Harvey was completely ignored, however, as Neal brought Mike into a hug and Donna cooed at the sight.

He sighed as he realized that he wouldn't be getting any answers at the moment and that Mike and Neal deserved some time alone after what Harvey could only guess was some type of abduction and possible death threats. Harvey pulled a resisting Donna from the office and let the brothers have some privacy.

"Why did you take me out of there?" Donna asked. "I wasn't done telling Mike off."

"From what I can tell, Neal's been in a lot of danger and Mike's been worried," Harvey answered, "I think it's only fair we give them a moment."

Donna huffed but conceded, and the two stood there watching intently to the happenings in the office.

Mike and Neal held their hug for a little bit, most likely reassuring themselves that the other was all right. Soon enough, though, they pulled away and Neal immediately pushed Mike and looked annoyed.

Donna plopped herself down at her desk and switched on her intercom. Harvey leaned down to listen in; He was curious - who wouldn't be?

"What the hell were you thinking?" Neal asked, clearly annoyed.

"Me?!" Mike protested, "You're the one who willingly went to a meet with Wilkes without backup."

"That's different," Neal insisted.

"How the hell is it different?"

"It's my job."

Mike rolled his eyes. "And you're my brother."

Neal huffed but Harvey could tell that what Mike had said had made some kind of an impact.

"I just wanted you to be OK," Mike admitted quietly.

Neal's face fell and he wrapped his arm around Mike's shoulders, pulling the kid into him. "We agreed long ago that you wouldn't participate in any crimes."

"This wasn't a crime, though," Mike said.

"It held the same amount of danger."

"No, it didn't. The FBI were surrounding the place. They had your back."

Neal sighed, "Mike, they don't know about you and I'd like to keep it that way."

"I know, but you needed someone else to run the zigzag scam," Mike tried to defend himself, "I mean, let's be honest. A gun in the glove compartment against Edward Riley would have been suicide."

Neal chuckled at Mike's argument and pushed Mike away a little so that they could meet each other's eyes, "Regardless. Next time…"

Mike suddenly broke out of Neal's loose embrace and walked over to Harvey's desk. "Can't believe I forgot about this."

Harvey and Donna watched with narrowed eyes as Mike unplugged the intercom and cut off their source of information.

Harvey and Donna could have sworn they were about to have panic induced heart attacks. So far, Mike and Neal had admitted to the FBI, running a con, going on a meet with someone who'd at the very least attempted murder, and now another criminal and a gun. Harvey had to admit that he really didn't like what Neal's lifestyle and 'job' brought Mike into.

Harvey and Donna stayed watching Neal and Mike in the office. They couldn't hear anything but from what they could see, it looked as though Neal was trying, yet failing, to get Mike to agree to stay away from the 'scams,' as Mike had put it – though Harvey would call it a con or a crime. Mike didn't appear to be agreeing, though. Granted, all of this was from what little Donna could make out by reading lips and Harvey doing his best to decipher body language.

Thirty minutes into their discussion and Neal suddenly paused, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Neal talked on the phone for a few minutes, before giving Mike an apologetic look. Mike nodded his head and the two hugged one last time before Neal headed out of the office.

"It was nice to see you again Mr. Specter," Neal said, offering his hand.

Harvey shook Neal's hand politely, but offered no greeting in return; he didn't trust Neal. Donna didn't acknowledge Neal in the least, but rather, waited for the man to enter the elevator before bursting into Harvey's office and continuing her previous rant.

Harvey just let the two alone. He had work to do and he wanted to research this 'Edward Riley'. Obviously, his original plan to just ignore Mike's brother had been a horrible idea. Neal Caffrey could be a dangerous influence on Mike, despite the man's obvious intentions to keep Mike away from danger. As far as Harvey was concerned, Neal was a bad influence on Mike. Clearly, the kid had picked up some skills from Neal that weren't exactly 'legal'.

Harvey walked away from his office, leaving Mike in Donna's capable hands. After all the worry that Mike had put them through, he didn't feel pity for the kid one bit.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The following morning, Harvey and Donna found an article on the front of the paper, 'Ryan Wilkes Arrested for Kidnapping'. They read it through twice, happy to finally have a full name for Wilkes. From what they had learned off the article, and poking around on the Internet, Harvey was even more determined to keep Mike away from Neal's 'job'.

Wilkes was wanted in multiple countries for gun running, racketeering, murder, extortion and over a dozen other crimes. Edward Riley was even worse. The man seemed to be the person to acquire illegal items for others in whatever means necessary. Riley had even less morals than Wilkes.

Harvey and Donna were reeling with questions, but mostly, they were concerned for their pup's safety.

Harvey watched as Mike walked into his office calmly, as though nothing had transpired the day before, as though Mike and Neal hadn't gone up against two hardened criminals risking their lives with the FBI breathing down their necks. All that did was frustrate Harvey more.

"So, I got that paperwork done for the McKesson Merger," Mike greeted as he sauntered into Harvey's office, without knocking, and laid the files on Harvey's desk. "Is there something else you need done?"

Harvey gaped at Mike, honestly lost for words for the first time in his life. Could the kid honestly think that they had nothing else to talk about?

Mike seemed to take Harvey's silence as a queue to leave because he turned around and started heading for the door. He didn't make it, though.

Donna cut Mike off at the exit, grabbing his arm and turning him back around, shoving him into one of the chairs at Harvey's desk.

"Something wrong?" Mike asked.

"YES," Harvey and Donna insisted. Honestly, how could the kid not see it?

"What?"

Donna scowled. "What you did yesterday was dangerous and stupid!"

"This again," Mike groaned.

"I take it you're tired of having Donna lecture you?" Harvey questioned.

Mike rolled his eyes, "Obviously."

"Then tell us all what you did and I'll stop giving you a generic lecture and focus solely on the ones that you deserve." Donna smirked. "It'll take less time."

Mike fidgeted in his seat. "How long is the generic lecture gonna last me?"

Donna narrowed her eyes and glared at Mike, "Three more days."

Mike gulped and looked for Harvey to help, but Harvey was more than willing to let Donna lecture the kid for the next three days if it meant that Mike wouldn't be getting into any dangerous situations.

"Well?" Donna prodded.

Mike shot one last pleading look to Harvey, before sighing and turning to Donna, "I can't tell you."

Donna looked to Harvey, asking permission. Harvey turned to Mike. "Nice knowing you, kid."

Mike groaned as he was dragged out of the room by Donna and sat at the extra chair that was, conveniently, placed right at her desk.

The next three days followed in the same pattern. Harvey would come in a little late only to find Mike sitting at Donna's desk while the woman would alternate between lecturing him and working. Mike would be forced to sit at Donna's desk until lunch, at which time he'd be dragged to Harvey's office where he was sat at the table and given food. Mike would sit at the table for his entire lunch break. Donna would let Mike go to the restroom right after lunch before the kid would be placed back at Donna's desk until the end of the day.

Unfortunately, Harvey and Donna couldn't make Mike stay after the working day was done so, despite their best efforts, Mike would always end up going back to his new home where Neal would be waiting.

On the morning of the fourth day, Mike barged into Harvey's office, dropped down onto the couch and sighed in relief. "Finally."

Harvey couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Lecture over?"

"Three days, Harvey!"

Harvey sobered up. "You deserved every second of it."

"I was helping my brother," Mike defended.

Harvey stood up and started walking around his desk. "You put yourself in danger, went after not one but two known criminals with guns, committed a crime and were in a building surrounded by the FBI!"

Mike shrugged, "It wasn't a crime."

"It wasn't a…" Harvey just couldn't believe it! The kid was seriously acting as though it were nothing! Everything he'd just done, everything he'd just admitted to and the only thing he had to say for himself was that it wasn't a crime!

"Look, Harvey," Mike said, standing up. "I've served my three days and now I'd just like to get back to work."

"This isn't over…"

"Oh, good Harvey," Jessica interrupted their discussion. "I have a new project for you."

Harvey sent a glare to Mike, letting him know that this conversation was far from over, before giving his attention to Jessica and listening in on his new assignment.

Mike slunk out of the office silently (a skill Harvey was fairly certain Mike had picked up from Neal) and hid away somewhere in the firm.

Harvey didn't see Mike that much after. Despite his best efforts, Mike proved to be rather skilled at evasion. When Mike couldn't escape Harvey or Donna, he would get his work and then perform some very creative escape tactic before disappearing again.

Harvey was really beginning to get worried as the days wore on and he hadn't seen Mike for more than an hour. The kid was good at the whole evasion thing and yet again, Harvey had something he was blaming Neal for.

Harvey was beginning to get frustrated. He and Donna had been given the slip by Mike quite a few too many times. At this point, they were falling on a last resort – waiting outside by the bike racks until Mike shows.

Fortunately, they only had to wait ten minutes before Mike came rolling up. Only catch was that as Harvey and Donna were making their way over to the slippery little puppy, the bald headed man (not Dante) had beaten them.

Recognizing that Mike and not Dante were having a relatively private conversation, Harvey and Donna did the only natural thing. They moved closer and eavesdropped.

"Will you help?" Not Dante asked.

Mike sighed, "I've already told you I don't have the time."

"Please. I just need you for a couple of hours," Not Dante pleaded.

"Why can't you find someone else?"

"Because you're the best mechanic I know."

Donna looked to Harvey and mouthed _mechanic?_ Harvey just shrugged; he had no clue.

Mike took a step back. "What?" Not Dante questioned looking a little hurt.

"The last time you asked me to be the mechanic, you pretended to kill me," Mike hissed.

Not Dante rolled his eyes. "That was one time. And how was I supposed to know I'd have to pretend to stab you?"

"If you didn't know then why give me the cackle bladder?"

Not Dante shrugged, "Precautions. It never hurts to have a backup plan."

Mike sighed and looked as though he was mulling things over in his head. The kid shot Not Dante (Harvey really needed to learn this man's name) a glare before gathering a bit more information, "Whose the mark?"

"Just an old friend."

"An old friend...?"

Not Dante shifted a bit before mumbling something that Harvey couldn't quite make out. Harvey needn't have worried though because Mike had understood and didn't have as much of an issue with keeping quiet.

"From Detroit?!" Mike exclaimed before quieting down. "Are you insane? I want nothing do to with it." And with that, Mike turned on his heel and started to walk off.

"Please!" Not Dante begged as he started to follow. "The guy's a complete addict. It'll be easy."

Harvey was pleased with Mike's current answer and was becoming annoyed that Not Dante wasn't letting up.

Mike sighed as he turned back to Not Dante. "You never like dealing with addict's. You claim it's no fun."

"True," Not Dante agreed.

"So what's the scam?"

"Badger Game."

Mike paused, taking it all in. "You're using Alex."

"Yes."

Mike shook his head and smirked, "You're trying to run a con with Alex? Now? Are you insane?"

"I just need to give her a reason."

Mike scoffed, "If you just needed to give her a reason then you wouldn't be pulling in an old friend from Detroit."

"Two birds with one stone," Not Dante smirked.

Mike laughed and shook his head but Harvey could tell that the kid was going to agree to – whatever it was – that Not Dante was asking of him. Deciding that the conversation had gone on long enough, Harvey stepped forward.

"Mike. You're late," he greeted, startling the kid out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," Mike apologized.

"I'll talk to you later," Not Dante said, before abruptly turning and leaving as fast as he could.

Before Mike could weasel his way out of anything, Harvey and Donna each grabbed an arm and forced him into the back of Ray's car.

"Where are we going?" Mike asked for the tenth time since they'd started moving.

Harvey and Donna had acted on instinct when they'd forced Mike into Ray's car and they hadn't said anything to the kid since. Both of them were still trying to decipher what they had overheard. While Mike and not Dante had been speaking _in_ English, they hadn't actually been _speaking_ English.

Soon enough, they were pulling up outside of Harvey's condo and Mike was being forced out of the car and into an elevator.

"OK. Why are we here?" Mike asked once they were in Harvey's condo.

Harvey turned to Mike then. "What the hell were you and … Not Dante, talking about?"

"Wait. What do you mean Not Dante?" Donna butted in, confused.

Harvey gritted his teeth. "I don't actually know his name."

"Then why are you calling him Not Dante?"

"Because he introduced himself as Dante Habersham…" Harvey tried to explain, but Mike's laughing cut him off. "This amuses you?"

Mike sobered up at the apparent annoyance in Harvey's voice. "You really have to know the man in order to fully understand the humor."

"Oh. Well, please enlighten us," Donna invited as she sat down on one of the chairs in Harvey's living room, getting herself comfortable.

Mike hesitated, "Not really my place."

Donna looked as though she was about to start in on yet another lecture – and really, if Mike kept this up, the kid would be spending nearly every day stuck at Donna's desk – but Harvey cut her off.

"Enough!" he waited until he had the attention of everyone in the room. "Back to the original question. What were you and not Dante discussing?"

Mike sighed and slouched down on the couch, seemingly resigning himself to his fate. "He just wanted me as a mechanic for a couple hours so that he could play a badger game on a mark with Alex."

"Yes. I heard all of that," Harvey said.

Mike shot him a curious look, "Then what's the confusion?"

"I have no idea what any of it means!"

Vocab: First off, all of the terms come off the White Collar Con Dictionary. Figured if I was going to use the show, I'd use it's terms.

1) Addict: Sucker who keeps falling for scams.

2) Badger Game: A scam involving a woman seducing, then exploiting, a victim.

3) Cackle Bladder: A pocket or balloon filled with fake blood.

4) Mechanic: Specializes in slight of hand card manipulation.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Despite Harvey and Donna's intentions of holding Mike captive at the condo until they got answers to all of their questions Jessica called mere minutes after their arrival and demanded to know where Harvey was because they had an important meeting in half an hour. No matter how much Harvey argued both he and Mike were required to be there so they had to leave.

After the meeting Harvey had tried to pin Mike down again but the kid was slippery. Harvey couldn't help but conclude that it was Neal who had taught Mike how to evade people so well – after all the man was a criminal. It was almost two weeks before Harvey received a new development on the Mike front.

Harvey had given Mike (left on the boy's desk really because he never did seem to be able to pin the kid down for more than thirty seconds at a time outside of meetings) some much-needed files for a court hearing the following day. Harvey had left a note informing Mike that the deadline for those files was at noon and it was currently 12:10.

As any reasonable boss would do Harvey had waited a whole five minutes past the deadline before calling Mike's phone incessantly. Only problem was that he'd been calling for five minutes now and his associate still hadn't picked up.

Just as he was about to call down to security and have them find Mike there was a voice on the other end of the line.

_"Hello?"_

Harvey paused; he didn't know that voice. "Who is this?"

_"That's what I'd like to know."_ The mystery man stated.

"Who are you and why are you answering my associates phone?" Harvey asked annoyed. Whatever was going on Mike better not have given his phone to one of Neal's 'friends'.

_"Your associates…"_ the man started but then stopped.

Harvey listened intently on the other end of the line. He could barely make out what was being said but he did manage to catch the words _'Peter'_, '_that's not'_ and _'Neal'_

"Is Neal there?" Harvey asked. He didn't know who this man was but he did know Neal. As much as Harvey disliked Mike's brother at least Neal could give him some answers.

_"How do you know Neal?"_ The man, Harvey guessed Peter, demanded to know.

"He's my associates brother now…"

"_Brother!?"_ Peter exclaimed.

Harvey heard shuffling on the other end of the line and then he heard Neal's voice distantly saying, '_Peter give me the phone'_. Peter of course refused and then there was a banging noise and all Harvey could hear was the sound of struggling and what sounded like a threat of _'locking you up'_ before once again there was calm.

_"I'm sorry could you please repeat that"_ Peter asked. So Peter had won the battle for the phone.

"I said I would like to talk to Neal seeing as he's my associates brother" Harvey repeated.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before Peter finally replied, _"And just who is your associate?"_

"Why should I…" Harvey started but was interrupted by talking on the other end.

"_What are you doing?"_ Peter questioned.

"Excuse me?"

_"Not you. No! Put that down"_

Harvey took the phone away from his ear for a moment while trying to clam himself down a bit. So far this conversation was rather irritating. "Just who are you again?"

_"My name is Agent Pet…" _

That was all Harvey was able to make out because just then Mike came barreling into his office, took his cellphone away from him and hung up on Peter.

"What are you doing?" Harvey demanded to know. What the hell had gotten into his associate?

"Me!" Mike said incredulously, "What the hell do you think _you_ were doing! Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"What I've done?" Harvey said getting louder, "All I've done is call my associate so that I could get the files he owed me. What I would like to know is why I just had to deal with a phone call to the nearest mental hospital"

Harvey watched as Mike's indignation faded away and the kid finally became aware of just how annoyed his boss truly was. "Um…" Mike hedged, "Neal and I accidentally switched phones this morning"

"And how…" Harvey started to ask but his cell phone started ringing. Harvey made to answer the call but Mike snatched the phone away and moved to the other side of the room while rejecting the call.

"Give me my phone Mike" Harvey instructed.

"I can't" Mike answered.

"Mike I don't have time for this give me my phone now"

"No"

Harvey was about to pin Mike down if he had to when his office phone started ringing. Mike made a mad dash for the phone but Harvey got there first and scooped up phone and phone stand together before moving to stand in front of the plug so that Mike couldn't stop him.

"Hello"

"_This is agent Peter Burke of the FBI White Collar Division. I take it this is Harvey Specter?"_

"How did you get my name and number?" Harvey questioned.

_"You called from your personal cell phone. Tracing a number is easy_" Peter answered.

"Ah" Harvey should have figured that one out on his own really, "And why do you have my associate's phone?"

_"I thought it was Neal's"_ Harvey heard a bit of grumbling over the line there.

"Harvey hang up" Mike insisted as he made a move to get to the phone.

Harvey avoided Mike before glaring at the kid, "Go sit on the couch"

"Hang up the phone!" Mike said.

"Mike you're on thin ice here. Go sit on the couch"

Harvey had put as much force into his voice as possible and was pleased to see Mike slouch his shoulders in defeat and shuffle off, looking the spitting image of a scolded puppy.

_"What?"_ Peter asked.

"Sorry, not you" Harvey apologized. The earlier conversation with Peter coming to mind Harvey had to wonder if the man had been talking to Neal at the time.

_"It's alright I know what you mean"_ Peter sighed, _"I'll be down to your offices shortly"_

"Wait what?" Harvey asked but the line had already gone dead.

"What's going on?" Mike asked nervously from the couch.

Harvey looked up and glared at his associate, "Peter's on his way over"

Mike paled at the news but sat there quietly.

"Care to explain anything while we wait?" Harvey asked.

Mike didn't answer just shook his head in the negative. Harvey was tempted to prod further but the pup just looked so nervous he didn't have the heart.

The two waited in nervous silence for the mysterious FBI agent to arrive. Donna was sitting guard at her desk just outside the office but had already informed Harvey, in no uncertain terms, exactly what horrors awaited him if he even _thought_ about turning off the intercom. Harvey was smart enough to know when Donna wasn't joking – that intercom would stay on.

It was fifteen minutes before two man approached Donna's desk. One Harvey knew, Neal, the other he assumed was Peter. Peter looked to be older than Neal and about ten years older than Harvey himself. He had short black hair that was starting to turn grey on the sides and he was about an inch taller than Neal.

"I take it you're Harvey Specter" Peter greeted holding out his hand as he was let in by Donna.

"And you must be Peter Burke" Harvey replied.

Harvey shot a quick sideways look at Donna and took in the silent warning that silencing the intercom would surely mean dire consequences before gesturing for Peter to take a seat. Harvey didn't acknowledge Neal, not at all happy that the man had come.

Neal moved over and sat down beside Mike on the couch. The two younger men looked nervous and really Harvey didn't blame them though he didn't pity them either.

"What do you know?" Both Peter and Harvey asked simultaneously.

Before either person could answer Jessica decided to pop her head into Harvey's office, "Are you with a client?" she asked already knowing the answer. By Peter's suit it was obvious that he couldn't afford them.

"Just getting some facts straightened out" Harvey answered diplomatically.

Jessica nodded her head in affirmation and was about to duck out when the two on the couch decided to speak up "Alex!" – could they have worse timing?

Jessica turned back around and fully entered Harvey's office this time with a shorter, brown haired woman in tow.

"What are the two of you doing here together with him?" the brown haired woman asked.

The two younger men grumbled incoherently as they sulked into the couch.

"I take it you all know each other?" Jessica asked.

Harvey could tell that Jessica wasn't happy about the turn of events and couldn't help but wonder just who the mystery woman was and how she knew Mike and Neal.

"This is Alex Hunter" Peter answered the question on the tip of Harvey's tongue.

"Wait. She's Alex?" Harvey asked confused.

"Yes. She's Alex?" Neal answered.

"She is Alex?" Harvey repeated for confirmation.

"Yes." The woman, Alex, stated.

"Who did you think Alex was?" Mike asked.

"Honestly" Harvey said, "I thought Alex was he"

Mike was obviously confused here, "But you knew that… not Dante wanted Alex for a badger game"

"Whose not Dante?" Alex asked. At the same time Jessica decided to pop in with, "What's a badger game?" Of course nothing would be complete without a third party and Peter was happy to help by asking Mike, "How do you know them?" In true fashion everyone decided to answer their questions at the same time. Neal answered Alex's question. Peter answered Jessica's. Mike answered Peter's. Nobody understood a thing being said.

Harvey groaned. He felt like his head was splitting in two with all these conversations going at once. To think, all he'd wanted was to get a few files from his associate – it wasn't meant to turn into the beginning chapter in 'conversations often found in mental institutions'.

To Harvey's great relief Donna decided to come into the room, lock the door, and restore order, with an extremely loud whistle that had everyone covering their ears and shutting their mouths. "Now that I have your attention here's what were going to do" Donna seated herself in a chair and completed the circle of people, "First we will start with answering who is not Dante?"

"You mean the little guy?" Peter asked.

"He's short, bald, wears glasses and is insane" Harvey answered.

"He's not insane" Neal, Mike and Alex all interjected.

"He has his quirks" Peter said as a way of a piece offering. The three nodded their heads in appeasement before Peter finally answered a question that had been bothering Harvey for months. "His name is Mozzie"

"You ruined the game!" Mike exclaimed immediately.

"What game?" Jessica asked.

Alex smirked, "These two think it's fun to drive people mad guessing Mozzie's name"

"It's not funny" Harvey stated staring Mike down.

"It's always funny" Mike replied.

"Moving on" Donna interjected before an argument could start, "Next question: What's a badger game?"

Peter answered this one again, "A badger game is scam involving a woman seducing then exploiting a victim"

"And Mozz wanted you and Alex for this?" Neal asked turning to Mike.

Mike shrugged, "He wanted to keep Alex around and he knew an addict in town visiting so he set up a big store. Didn't work out too well though the guy brought a partner who figured out the game was gaffed and pulled him out. Only problem was the jackass threatened to call the bunco squad so Mozz insisted we leave."

_"The Bunco squad would be…" Donna trailed off. "Cops" Peter answered simply. _

At the same time Neal was asking Mike "And I wasn't asked because…" Neal trailed off.

"Because it could have landed you back in prison" Peter interjected. While Alex and Jessica were talking.

"_What's a big store?" Jessica asked during this. "It's a fake office or setup. It's where we held the whole thing or tried to since it never actually happened we can't get in trouble" Alex answered throwing in the last bit for Peter's annoyance._

"So you knew about this?" Harvey asked curiously.

"Absolutely not!" Peter said indignantly.

"Next" Donna spoke up, "Who are we and how do we know each other. An excellent question if I do say so myself. I'll go first. My name is Donna Paulson. I am the secretary for Harvey Specter and I am awesome"

Harvey smirked, leave it to Donna to throw that in somehow. "I'm Harvey Specter. I am a Senior Partner at PearsonHardman. I have a secretary – Donna and an associate – Mike Ross"

"Jessica Pearson. I am managing partner at PearsonHardman. I am the boss of Donna, Harvey and Mike"

"Peter Burke. I am the head agent in the FBI's White Collar task force. Neal Caffrey is my CI. That is not to be made public knowledge" Everyone in the room nodded in agreement with Peter's request before moving on.

"Alex Hunter. I'm not in the FBI and I'm not a lawyer. I'm just here because I wanted to check on the kid and make sure that he's working in a good place. Sorry for deceiving you" the last part pointed to Jessica.

"The kid?" four voices rang out together. "Why are you checking up on me?" Mike asked at the same time.

Alex ignored Harvey, Jessica, Donna and Peter in favor of focusing on Mike. "Kid, you really should just let it alone. I'm not the only one who wants to make sure you're all right. You've made a lot of friends and they just want to make sure that you're… not in any danger"

"I'm not a child!" Mike argued.

"But you were when they knew you and you're still so young" Alex defended.

"Wait" Peter interrupted, "He's the kid? The kid actually exists?"

Now Harvey was even more confused – and he was just starting to get some answers. "Whose the kid?" he sighed.

Peter sat back and studied Mike as he spoke, "It's an urban legend, a rumor, or so I thought. The kid is basically just what he's called – a kid. He's a kid that was brought around all sorts of criminals in every background there is. These criminals taught the kid all sorts of tricks, everything the boy would need to know in order to succeed in that field. The kid has an amazing mind, absorbs the information and learns quickly. The biggest thing is that all the criminals he's met like him, they protect him. It's said that the kid was allowed to sit in and deal on the poker games of some of the biggest mob bosses and he would never say a word about what he over heard while they were playing. I always thought he was fake – everyone did. No one person, not ever a child, could command that much respect and… care from the entire criminal community"

"I never listened in on their conversation" Mike quickly piped up, "I always had headphones on"

"So then it is you" Peter asked though really it was a statement.

Mike just shrugged, "I couldn't just leave him behind" Neal defended himself.

"You brought him around the entire criminal community?" Harvey asked dumbstruck, "As a child!"

"Oh relax. Nothing happened" Mike sighed.

"It wasn't the entire criminal community" Neal tried to defend, "And it wasn't always me that took him"

Alex nodded at that, "I remember watching him every so often when we were… visiting"

Peter rolled his eyes but didn't comment on Alex's word choice, they all knew what 'visiting' meant. "How the hell did you do it?"

"I was curious. They wanted to teach" Mike answered simply.

"Why would you ever want to learn… What did you learn exactly?" Donna asked hesitantly.

Harvey wasn't sure he even wanted to know the answer to that question but Mike spoke up anyway. Mike started simple listing basics such as how to pick a deadbolt lock or how to lift a wallet. As the list grew Harvey began to realize just how vast Mike's 'education' had been. From what Harvey could tell Mike could do anything from boosting a car to cracking the security systems at the pentagon though he didn't say those words exactly. It troubled him to hear just how much Mike had been exposed to and once again it all boiled down to… surprise, surprise – Neal Caffrey.

"I feel as though I should be arresting you" Peter commented off handedly when Mike finally finished.

"I've never committed a crime" Mike argued.

Alright so maybe that wasn't entirely true but Harvey did believe that the worst Mike had done was almost sell pot and that wasn't something that he'd rat the kid out for.

"I never let him anywhere near the… alleged crimes or planning" Neal said instantly.

"It's true he was very obsessive about it" Alex confirmed.

Peter just sighed and leaned back looking exhausted, "Whatever. There's never been any reports or rumors that the kid was actually a criminal just the best trained"

"Exactly what did you get yourself mixed up in?" Jessica asked Harvey.

Harvey took the moment to study Jessica. She was pissed. He looked around the room and sighed, he had a lot of answers now. He still despised Neal and wanted Mike as far away from the man as possible. Then something hit him, "Wait you said Neal was your CI?"

"Yes" Peter confirmed.

"That means he works for the FBI?"

"Yes" Peter said again.

"Then why the hell were you so worried about the FBI finding out about Mike?" Harvey demanded to know. I mean really the two of them had been acting like it was a national secret. One would think that the world would end if anyone found out and yet Neal worked for the FBI all along. "Was that why you said running the zig-zag scam wasn't a crime?"

"The what scam?" Peter asked confused.

"It's how we got Riley to hand over the brief case with a portable fortune in it" Neal explained.

Peter opened his mouth as though he were going to say something but then just shook his head and let it be.

"Is that what you meant by the FBI was surrounding us?" Donna asked.

Mike shrugged, "They were surrounding us and nothing we did was illegal"

"And yet none of my team ever knew you were there" Peter said.

"I've had the best training. Your security was abysmal" Mike replied.

Harvey didn't like that answer. Mike should _not_ be able to slip past an entire FBI security team, help his brother run a con on a well known and deadly criminal, and then slip out again without at least one of them noticing. The fact that he did it with such ease just made it all the worse.

"Can we get back to my original question?" Harvey asked, "Why do you not want the FBI to know about Mike?"

"Really?" Neal asked incredulously, "Is it that hard to figure out?"

"YES!" Harvey, Donna and Jessica exclaimed.

"He didn't want his brother to be hauled in by the FBI or anyone and questioned as to Neal's past crimes, whereabouts, current activities or future activities. Can't say I blame him" Peter answered, "Still, it would have been nice to know"

Neal just shrugged and gave Peter a sheepish look, "He's my little brother. I'll always protect him"

"And yet you introduced him to just about every criminal known to man" Jessica threw in.

"What was he supposed to do?" Mike asked.

"Leave you with your parents perhaps?" Jessica suggested.

That got an instant response from the brothers. Mike vehemently insisted that he would have run off if Neal had ever tried to do such a thing and Neal saying that he wanted what was best for Mike and if Jessica ever suggested that being with their 'parents' (saying the word with such venom that Harvey truly wondered how bad they had to be to earn such disgust) was better than being with Neal – criminals or not – then he would personally see to it that PearsonHardman went down.

Everyone was silent after that little outburst. After a full five minutes Donna and Alex stood up and left. Jessica soon followed. Neal and Peter were the last to leave but not before Peter and Harvey exchanged numbers and all made plans to get together for supper at Peter's house that Saturday night. Neal hugged Mike before getting up to leave. Finally it was just Harvey and Mike alone in the room together.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Once they were left alone, Harvey turned to his associate. The kid was sitting on the couch anxiously, wringing his hands and shifting slightly. Harvey cleared his throat and Mike's head shot up.

"There anything you would like to tell me?"

"I'm a legend in the FBI," Mike responded with a small smile.

Really! Really! That's what the kid had to say after everything that had just occurred!

Apparently Harvey's feelings were showing on his face because Mike's smile quickly disappeared. "Anything else you'd like to say?"

"I would like an answer to that myself," Jessica said walking into the office.

Mike kept his head down then and nodded in the negative.

"And what about you Harvey?" Jessica asked, turning her attention to the man behind the desk.

Harvey sighed and leaned back. "To be fair, I knew nothing of this when I hired the kid. I only found out that Mike even had a brother about six months ago when he came in wearing a strange suit."

"It was an accident! I was in a hurry and just grabbed one out of the closet," the kid defended himself.

"Oh, you'll be getting your turn to talk," Jessica informed Mike, "But for right now, I would recommend you stay quiet."

Mike gulped and shrunk down into the couch. Jessica could be plenty intimidating when she wanted to be.

"As I was saying," Harvey continued, "I spent the following three months trying to find out who Mike's brother even was."

"It took _you_ three months to find out?" Jessica asked skeptically.

Harvey narrowed his eyes. "I was dealing with someone skilled at evasion – I think I did extremely well."

Harvey noted Mike snickering from the couch, but decided now was not the time to bring the kid into the conversation – there would be time for that later.

"Once I learned who Mike's brother was, I spent the following three days researching the man. I was… less than pleased to learn that Mike's brother…"

"Neal," Mike interrupted.

Harvey glared at Mike. "Neal," he said with as little contempt as possible, "is a notorious criminal…"

"Was a notorious criminal," Mike interjected.

"Mr. Ross," Jessica admonished turning to the kid, "It would be wise for you to stay quiet at the moment."

"I just want the facts to be accurate," Mike defended.

"Hold your tongue. You'll get your chance to speak shortly," Jessica instructed.

Harvey sighed, before continuing on, "I confronted Mike about who his brother was and the kid accurately pointed out that it made no difference to Mike's ability to work for me seeing as how he had not participated in the crimes. Mike had a point and I let it be so long as it didn't interfere with his work."

"And the time Mr. Ross vanished at the beginning of the day and then spent the following three days at Donna's desk?" Jessica inquired.

Harvey cringed a little. He wasn't planning on telling Jessica, but if she already knew some of it, then it wouldn't be too difficult for her to learn all of it anyways. "Mike received a call while we were working. I'm not sure of the exact conversation but I do remember hearing that someone – I'm guessing Neal – had gone to meet with someone named Wilkes. From what I could gather, Wilkes had previously tired to shoot Neal and had currently abducted him. Mike, of course, bolted out of the office and I didn't see him again for ten hours. Once he returned, he refused to say what had happened or where he'd been so I left his to Donna."

Jessica looked livid. Harvey was tempted to try and calm her down so that she didn't kill Mike. However, the kid had put Harvey through a hell of a lot, and, to be honest, Mike deserved what was coming his way.

Slowly, Jessica turned to the nervous associate hunched into the couch. "Your turn to talk."

"What is it you want me to say?" Mike asked.

Jessica took a deep breath before answering that question, "Let's start with why you didn't inform Harvey who your brother was when you first met or when you first told him you had a brother?"

Mike looked incredulous. "Is that seriously a question?"

"Mike," Harvey warned.

Mike rolled his eyes but didn't respond.

"All right. How about, what it was you were up to when you left after that phone call?" Jessica asked.

"Ah… well… I got a call from Mozzie."

"Who?" Harvey interjected.

"Not Dante, you remember. Peter just told you that not three hours ago," Mike said.

"Of course, do go on," Harvey said.

"Mozz told me that Neal had been…. detained by Wilkes and that he needed a bit of assistance. Naturally, I went to help. We took care of the issue and then I came back here," Mike finished.

"That was very vague," Jessica said.

Mike shrugged, "That's all I can say."

"And why is that?" Harvey asked.

"Because we were doing it for the FBI and that's as much as I'm allowed to say," Mike responded.

OK, Harvey probably should have seen that one coming. Peter did say that Neal was his CI, and also the brothers had mentioned running a… "What's a zig-zag scam?"

Mike's eyebrows went up a little. "You say you're a cop or a fed or someone with authority and then you bust the mark. However, instead of taking them in you give them a reason to give you the desired item and walk away. The mark thinks that they just got out of trouble and you walk away with the valuable item or money."

"Is that what you did with Neal while you were 'missing'?" Jessica asked.

"Pretty much," Mike agreed.

"And where did the gun come into play?"

That elicited a smirk from Mike – a smirk!

"That was the back up plan," Mike answered.

"Back up plan," Harvey repeated.

Mike shrugged, "Be kind and respectful to everyone you meet, but make sure you have a backup plan on how to kill them if necessary."

"That's not funny," Harvey said.

"It's just a quote," Mike huffed.

"Who was the woman who I was showing around earlier?" Jessica asked.

"That was Alex," Mike stated.

"And what is it that she does?" Harvey asked.

"Ah…" Mike said, "Can't tell you that."

"Is it legal?" Harvey sighed. This day was just insane and he really wanted it to be over.

"That all depends on your definition of legal."

"Mike," Harvey snapped.

Mike's shoulder's slumped, "I can't answer that."

"It might be best for you to just take the rest of the day off, Mike," Harvey sighed. He really didn't need this right now.

"Do I still have a job?" Mike asked hesitantly.

Harvey could see Jessica hesitating. Every single senior and junior partner liked Mike and used the kid as often as possible. It would send a lot of rumors running around the firm and they could lead to some bad results, especially with clients. Still, Mike was the brother of an international criminal.

"No kid, you're not fired. Come back tomorrow and I'll have work for you," Harvey said, "Oh, and Mike? You'll be working from my office for the foreseeable future."

"What! Why?" Mike yelled.

"Because I don't trust you and the only way I'm letting you continue to work here is if Harvey keeps you on a tight leash," Jessica informed the boy.

Mike pouted, but was smart enough not to argue. He left the office, got what Harvey could only assume was a telling off from Donna, and then headed towards the elevators.

"Why didn't you tell me about this when you found out?" Jessica asked.

"He's my associate and you would have been pissed," Harvey answered simply.

Jessica's eyebrows shot into her hairline and she left in shock.

Harvey leaned back in his chair, dreading Saturday.

Alright, so the quote came from this website


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright I know it's been forever since I've updated this thing but hey, it's an extra long chapter so there you go.**

Chapter 6

Saturday came all too quickly for Harvey's liking. Mike had thrown a fit about having to work in Harvey's office from now on and it had taken a full two days before the kid actually stopped pouting and started producing any work. Of course Mike working out of Harvey's office hadn't gone unnoticed by Louis or the other associates and led to a show down between Harvey and Louis that was sure to become legendary.

It was a relief to Harvey when he'd walked into work on Saturday morning and found Mike already sitting at the table working. "We have a meeting in ten minutes"

"Donna told me"

Harvey held in a sigh. While Mike had been working he had not been in the most… pleasant mood. All Harvey got from the kid now a days was clipped, sarcastic or rude sentences. What a joy life was sometimes. Still he had to get ready to meet a new possible client. The guy was running for senator and had called saying he needed to get an issue solved.

They worked quietly until the new potential client walked in, "Ah Mr. Jennings" Harvey stood up to greet the man. "I'm Harvey Specter and this is my associate Mike Ross"

Harvey and Jennings both turned to Mike who was standing there patiently waiting. Once everyone was introduced Mike sat to the side while Harvey and Jennings talked. Harvey honestly expected for Mike to jump in at some point but the kid just sat there quietly listening. Once the meeting was over and Jennings had left Harvey headed back to his desk, "Well I don't know what we can do to help him but…"

"We shouldn't" Mike cut in.

"What?" The kid was quiet the entire meeting and then he interrupts with the idea of not getting a new client – a potential senator at that.

"We shouldn't help him"

"And why is that?"

"He's crooked"

Harvey could feel a headache coming on, "And how do you know that?"

Mike looked up at Harvey and gave him an incredulous look, "Just trust me on this one. You don't want to be associated with Gary Jennings"

"The senatorial candidate?" Jessica asked walking into the office because of course she would choose this exact moment to barge in.

"He was just here, needs our help" Harvey informed her.

Mike just shook his head, "It's a bad idea"

Jessica turned to the boy with arms crossed, "And why is that?"

"Because he's dirty" Mike explained slowly.

Harvey was confused, and annoyed. More annoyed. "What makes you say that?" he asked knowing he'd regret it. Mike laughed condescendingly; can a laugh be condescending? Harvey wasn't sure.

"He's dirty just trust me on that" Mike assured him.

"Why should we trust _you_ exactly?" Jessica inquired.

Mike rolled his eyes, "I'm '_the kid_' I've been trained by the best of the best. I know when someone's dirty"

Harvey begrudgingly had to admit that Mike had a point there but the boy really shouldn't have rubbed that fact in Jessica's face as though it were something to be proud of. Jessica still wasn't all that thrilled with Mike working at the firm but she also couldn't fire him because – as far as she knew – he had never done anything worthy of being fired.

"Yes" Jessica said, "speaking of those who trained you I have been receiving a few phone calls from people I have never heard of before and they all specifically ask about the associates. Any thoughts?"

Mike sighed in annoyance, "They're overprotective and there's nothing I can do about it. Believe me I've tried"

"I don't want to know" Harvey said in irritation. He'd quickly found that to be the best phrase in the world when it came to Mike's past. He didn't need to know how Mike had tried to get those people off his back it was just safer that way.

"That's probably for the best" Mike agreed as he sat back down at the table.

"Well Harvey might not want to know but I do" Jessica said simply.

"Unless you give me their actual names I can't help you" Mike informed her, "Nor can I stop them from calling"

Jessica glared at Mike but seemed to hesitantly agree that no, the boy could not stop the worlds best criminals from calling up and using fake names to check on the kid.

"I can suggest," Mike cut in, "That you just flat out tell those who call asking about associates that the kid is fine"

Jessica sighed, "I'll try that then now what do you know about Gary Jennings that I do not?"

"I know many a things about Jennings that you don't" Mike informed her, "I'm just not at liberty to say"

Jessica looked as though she were about to start screaming when it suddenly clicked for Harvey, "Is the FBI investigating him?"

Mike turned to Harvey and gave him a con man's smile, "I can't answer that"

Jessica just shook her head and walked towards the door, "We leave for the dinner in fifteen minutes"

"Wait what?" Mike asked surprised.

"I said…" Jessica started.

"I know what you said," Mike cut her off, "I just don't recall you being on the guest list"

"I contacted agent Burke myself" Jessica informed, "Now you aren't planning on wearing that to dinner are you?"

"No" Mike answered simply, "I just thought I'd have time to go home and change before I left nor did I know I was getting a ride"

Harvey sighed and gathered his things; he could tell where Jessica was going with this, what her plan was, "Let's go then. Give you time to change"

Harvey didn't wait for Mike to follow him and Jessica out, "I take it your car is already downstairs or do I need to call Ray?" he asked the woman.

"My car is there but my driver will need the address" Jessica replied. Harvey turned to Mike then knowing that the kid had heard everything and, annoyed, the boy gave up the address.

It wasn't long before the three of them were getting out in front of Mike's new place of residence. "You two don't need to follow me" Mike tried, "I'll only be a few minutes"

"Nice try kid" Harvey said as he put a hand on Mike's back and started leading the pup towards the house.

Mike sighed but unlocked the door anyways. "My apartment is on the third floor"

"Apartment?" Harvey inquired.

"Neal and I rent a studio apartment from June" Mike replied, "It's small but we also have access to the rest of the house whenever we like so long as we stay out of June's room"

Mike then led Harvey and Jessica into the building and both stopped to look around in awe. The place was amazing, nicely furnished with expensive antiques. Whoever June Ellington was she was defiantly wealthy. Maybe she was old money? Before either could take too long of a look Mike had scurried up one full flight of stairs forcing the others to hurry their pace in order to keep up.

"If I'd have known there would be so many stairs I wouldn't have worn heels" Jessica commented as they finally came to a stop at a solid oak door.

"If you had asked I would have told you" Mike replied as he pushed the door open and strode into the studio apartment.

Harvey looked around the place in the same amazement that he had earlier. The furniture was expensive, "I take it the place came with furniture?"

"Obviously" Mike replied as he disappeared through another door, "Don't follow me please, this is the closet" he called before shutting the door behind him.

Harvey granted Mike that wish for obvious reasons and started walking around the bedroom/living room/kitchen/dining room area. The stove and fridge were to the right of the door and were older but they looked well maintained, there was a rather impressive wine collection next to the cabinets. In the middle of the room was a large open space with the kitchen table in the middle of it. To the far end of the table was a wall with a massive fireplace in the middle of it, to the left of the fireplace was a nice desk and to the right was another desk, Harvey took a guess that there was one desk per brother. The other side of the apartment started at the door they came through. To the right of the door Harvey noted a metal ladder attached to the wall that led up to what Harvey could only assume was the roof – an interesting piece for an apartment. Of course right after the ladder came the kitchen and then immediately after the door that Mike went through. To the left of the door was an indented area. The far wall was covered in bookcases and there was a couch coming out from there with a TV across from it pressed against a wall. In front of the couch was a nice coffee table and there was also a couple of mismatched chairs sitting opposite but not blocking the view of the TV. Harvey walked a little farther into the indented area and found that to the left of the bookcases there was yet another indention that led to the where the bed was kept there was also a small wardrobe in this area and the ceiling above the bed was a massive skylight. The one thing that really stood out to Harvey was that there was only one bed. Who slept in the bed? Where did the other brother sleep? The last thing Harvey noted about the apartment was that there were two easels, one small one by the bookcases and one larger one in the open area with the table.

"Harvey come look at this view" Jessica called.

Harvey moved out of the bed alcove and walked to the center area where he noted a wall of glass windows, two of which appeared to be a double door that led out to the balcony. As he stepped out he had to admit, the view was breathtaking. "How can Neal afford all of this?"

"June rents this place out cheap," Mike informed as he appeared behind them, "Ready to go?"

Harvey turned to look at his associate, "I thought you were changing into something more appropriate?"

Mike looked down at what he was wearing before looking back at Harvey, "I did"

"You're wearing jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes," Jessica informed.

"Yes" Mike agreed, "It's dinner at the Burke's not the palace" and with that he started heading for the door.

"Where's your coat?" Harvey asked. I mean really, it's the middle of October and the boy was leaving without a coat?

Mike gave Harvey and incredulous look but the man remained stubborn. Eventually Mike huffed in irritation and stomped off towards the door that he said was to the closet. Harvey decided to follow. When Harvey walked through the door he found a short hallway not a closet and no Mike in sight. Curiosity getting the best of him he started at the first door he saw, it was the bathroom. The only other door was at the end of the short hall so Harvey assumed that had to be the closet. Walking forward he opened the door and found a massive walk in closet – Donna would be extremely envious.

"Can I help you with something?" Mike questioned snarkily as he pulled a jacket off of a hanger.

Harvey looked around, the whole room was fancy shelving and it looked to be split in thirds. One wall was strictly devoted to everyday clothes and that was the wall with drawers and cubbies as well as hanger space. The other long wall was filled with suits, both nice and the ones that Mike tended to wear, the far wall, the shortest section was filled with coats, scarves, hats, shoes and gloves, accessories basically. "This is a nice closet" Harvey complemented.

Mike looked at him as though he'd lost it, "Glad you approve" he sniped, "We should be going now"

"Right, right" Harvey agreed as he gestured for Mike to lead the way out of the closet.

"You have a very nice place Mr. Ross" Jessica complemented as they exited the building and got back into the town car.

Mike just nodded and then popped his headphones in and stared out the window. Harvey sighed at his associates lack of manners but wasn't really in the mood to delve into a discussion or lecture right now anyways so just let it be. It didn't take long before they arrived at their destination anyways.

Mike was the first out of the car as they pulled up at the Burke's. "Mike wait" Harvey called, "You don't even know if they're home yet"

"Neal already told me that they were here" Mike said as he knocked on the door.

Harvey just shook his head and followed the energetic boy. He got to the door just as a woman was opening it.

"Hello, I'm Elizabeth, Peter's wife" the woman greeted extending her arm to Harvey and then Jessica.

The three were let inside and the remaining introductions were given. They had all just sat down when a good-sized dog came barreling into the room. "Satch" Mike called as he dropped down to the floor, "How are ya boy?"

"How do you know my dog?" Peter questioned joining the group.

"I've met him before" Mike answered as though it were obvious.

"Mike" Harvey warned, "There's no need to be rude"

"When people ask dumb questions I feel obligated to give sarcastic answers" Mike retorted.

"Silence is the best answer to a stupid question" Neal replied as he lightly smacked Mike upside the head as he dropped down onto the floor next to him. Mike's retaliation to this was to elbow Neal in the stomach so naturally Neal shoved Mike to the side.

"Enough!" Peter and Harvey ordered before the little fight could escalate any further.

Both boys stopped and turned to their perspective boss' with wide eyes while Elizabeth did her best to hold in her laughter. "We were just playing" Neal groused while Mike muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'control freaks' under his breath.

"Playing or not there will be no fighting in this house" Peter informed his subordinate.

A ding was heard from the kitchen and Elizabeth jumped up with a smile, "Why don't you boys help me get the food out of the kitchen and set the table?"

It was posed as a question but it was really an order and the brothers seemed to understand that as they shared a look of slight irritation before standing up and following Elizabeth out of the living room.

Peter, Harvey and Jessica made polite small talk for about ten minutes while the boys and El were setting the table with dishes and food. It didn't take all that long before Mike came towards them, "Dinner is served" he said in a deep voice as though mimicking a butler.

"Cut the act Alfred" Harvey replied as he gently turned Mike and ushered him to the table.

Peter and Elizabeth both took opposite ends of the table with Peter at the head, after all it was his house. Harvey and Jessica sat next to each other across from Mike and Neal. The meal went by amicably, no real surprises and once the dishes were cleared and everyone had a coffee they all found themselves seated around the table once again.

"So" Elizabeth started turning to Mike, "I'm just dying to know more about Neal's mysterious little brother"

"Mysterious?" Mike queried.

"Well Neal won't tell us anything about you" El clarified, "All that I know is that you're younger than he is and that you work at a law firm. Also Peter is under the impression that you're _the kid_"

Mike nodded taking in the information. "Well I am _the kid_ technically. I mean, I am the one that received the…"

"Unique education" Neal offered.

"Yes," Mike agreed, "the unique education if that's what Peter is referring to"

"It is" Peter said.

"Alright then I am _the kid_" Mike admitted, "Though I thought that had already been established?"

Peter cleared his throat; "It's a little hard to establish something that was never actually confirmed from your mouth until just now. After all _the kid_ has been believed to be nothing more than a myth up until last week"

Mike just shrugged, "Anything else you'd like to know?" he asked El.

El made to open her mouth but Peter cut her off, "Actually yes, how is it that since Neal is 24 and you are younger you managed to acquire a law degree and not only that but I have yet to find record of you actually graduating from any college anywhere?"

Everyone at the table froze. Jessica was the one to break the silence, "What!"

"I… um…" Mike stuttered. Harvey could see that the kid was scared, this wasn't how they had planned the evening going but Harvey did know that it was a possibility.

"Peter really" Neal tried but he wasn't allowed to get very far.

"Relax" Peter sighed, "I just wanted to see who knew"

Harvey had to stop himself from audibly gulping, "Look…"

Peter cut him off, "I've known since I left your office last week. The very first thing I did was run a complete background check on Michael Ross."

"And what did you find?" Jessica inquired.

Peter took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair a little, "I learned that up until four and a half years ago Mike Ross didn't exist" he held his hand up to stave off interruptions and continued, "But then again neither did Neal Caffrey until about ten years so I do believe that the two of them merely used their first names and what? Gave Mike a last name after Neal went to jail?"

"I took my Grammy's last name" Mike informed.

"So Edith Ross is your biological grandmother?" Peter asked.

"No" Mike shook his head, "She was by Grammy"

"Edith took Mike in after I went to jail" Neal explained.

"Of course she did" Peter sighed, "Right anyway. Up until four and a half years ago there was no trace of a Mike Ross however there are multiple rumors about _the kid_ which range from receiving private lessons from numerous high ranking criminals to dealing poker games for top crime lords to having sleepovers with and attending birthday parties of the children of the most notorious criminals that exist." He paused and turned to Mike then, "How am I doing so far?"

Mike shrugged, "Not bad"

Peter gave him an annoyed smile, "Mike Ross however does not appear to have a criminal record other than being banned from a casino in Atlantic city for counting cards at the age of seventeen"

Mike shrugged there and gave Peter a 'what can I say' kind of look.

"The only other information I can find on him is that he tested out of high school and that Edith passed away about eight months ago" Peter finished.

"And what about the law degree?" Jessica asked icily.

"Ah yes that" Peter sighed, "When I learned who you might be I approached my boss who then took this information up the chain. They do believe that they've come up with a solution"

"Which would be?" Harvey asked nervously.

"He works part time alongside his brother for the FBI and part time for you at Pearson Hardman for four years and in turn the FBI will provide him with a license to practice law in the state of New York, legally" Peter offered.

Harvey couldn't believe his luck. He'd have his associate part time and then after four years he'd have a full time, legal, associate of his choosing. "Done" he agreed quickly.

"Excuse me" Mike cut in, "I do believe this is my choice"

"And I also believe that it is up to me, not you, as to whether Mr. Ross is allowed to continue to work at Pearson Hardman" Jessica informed.

"He's the best associate we have" Harvey argued.

"Does this mean I get to go on stings?" Mike asked.

Well that stopped Harvey's argument, "Absolutely not" he informed the boy.

"It's not up to you" Mike sneered as he turned to Peter.

"They're not called stings" Peter tried.

"Peter" Elizabeth admonished, "You can't be serious, he's just a child"

"It's what Neal does" Mike argued.

"I'm fine with it so long as you stay with me" Neal agreed.

"Well I'm not and you're my associate" Harvey stated.

"Being your associate does not mean you get a say in this" Mike said.

"Enough!" Elizabeth yelled demanding attention. She waited patently glaring at everyone until she had the complete attention of the room and then she went around in turn, "Jessica, Mike is a smart kid and a valuable asset. His law license is sanctioned by the government and he clearly knows what he's doing not to mention it would be good for him to get away from the crimes and criminals that the FBI will introduce him to so I highly recommend that you keep him on the payroll"

Jessica sat and thought about it for a few minutes, "Alright however what he will be allowed to do will be severely limited and he must be with either Harvey or Donna at all times"

"What!" Mike cried incredulously.

"I will get to you in a minute" Elizabeth stated cutting the kid off, "Next, Harvey, Mike is correct that his job as your associate does not entitle you a say in what he does with the FBI so might I suggest that you offer to become his… handler. He can do that right Peter?"

Peter paused for a moment before nodding hesitantly, "There is some leeway in that so long as he can control the kid"

"I'll do it" Harvey agreed readily.

"No" Mike groaned, slouching back in his chair.

Elizabeth choose to ignore that comment for the time being, "Peter, you cannot seriously be considering letting a twenty year old kid participate in field work?"

"Twenty!" Harvey yelled in surprise. Mike shrunk down in his chair a bit more and avoided making eye contact.

"He's an asset, they want him for a reason" Peter argued.

"He knows what he's doing" Neal tried to defend, "He was taught by the best"

"Oh don't even get me started on that" Elizabeth warned quieting Neal with a deadly glare. Neal soon joined his brother trying to hide under the table.

"I'll do my best to keep him out of the field but there might be some occasions where I can't help it" Peter tried to appease.

Elizabeth appeared to accept this for now as she turned and rounded on the brothers, "You two! I don't even know where to begin! Let's just sum it up by saying that neither one of you is capable of making mature decisions and from now on Peter, Harvey and myself will be keeping a _very_ close eye on you"

Both boys gulped and shared identical concerned looks but they appeared to know better than to argue with a fuming Elizabeth.

After that the conversations calmed down. Mike did agree to work part time for the FBI and Peter and Harvey talked through a possible schedule of switching days to switching weeks in the end they just agreed that they would split days in half and then Harvey had to come to the FBI on three mornings one week and two the other in order to fulfill his roll as Mike's 'handler' which just seemed to anger Mike all the more.

Once everything was settled and they were finishing up their coffees two important questions popped into Harvey's mind. "So which one of you sleeps in the bed?"

"What?" Mike and Neal asked together.

"You only have one bed in your apartment" Harvey explained, "Which one of you gets it?"

"We share it" Neal answered simply.

"Why would you share a bed?" Peter asked, "Why not just get another one?"

"We've always shared a bed" Mike replied.

"What?" Harvey asked.

"For my entire life" Mike started, "I have shared a bed with my brother"

"Well if you could call that mattress a bed" Neal replied.

Mike nodded, "That's true but the point is still the same"

Harvey just let it go, he wasn't in the mood for this conversation right now, "Fine. One last question"

"Yes?" Neal asked.

"What is wrong with Gary Jennings?" Neal and Mike burst out laughing which did nothing to help Harvey's headache. Peter just groaned so Harvey turned his attention to the agent. "Well?"

Peter sighed, "Nothing we say here…"

"Leaves this room, yes we know" Jessica finished.

"Gary Jennings is under suspicion form the FBI" Peter answered.

"He's running a straw donor scam" Neal put in.

"Alright" Jessica conceded, "Mr. Ross was right, we will not take Mr. Jennings in as a client"

Mike snorted, "Don't see why you couldn't have just listened to me in the first place"

"Mike" Harvey admonished.

Mike merely rolled his eyes and stood up from the table, "Hey can Neal and I take Satch to the park?" he asked El.

"It's already dark" El replied sweetly, "But maybe tomorrow"

Mike nodded and then turned his head and paused when he saw the backdoor, "Your backyard then?"

"What is with this sudden interest in getting outside?" Harvey asked.

"Just a bit restless" Neal answered.

"I knew it was a bad idea to give you coffee so late in the day" Peter sighed.

Neal and Mike both gave Peter a sheepish look. "Mike drinks coffee all the time" Harvey cut in.

"Does he have something to do when he's drinking the coffee?" Peter asked.

"Yes…" Harvey had to think about that.

"Is he typically tired when he drinks it?" Peter continued.

"Yes" Harvey agreed.

"Well he's not tired now and he doesn't have anything to do and yet we've just pumped two skinny boys with enough caffeine to keep them running for hours" Peter explained.

Harvey couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose as he felt that headache coming in full force.

"It's no big deal" Neal said, "We'll just head out and see you in the morning"

The two of them were halfway to the door before El spoke up, "Not so fast" she waited until they'd stopped and turned to face her, "I don't even want o guess what your plans are but I'm willing to bet that neighed Peter nor Harvey would approve so you two can just march yourselves upstairs – Neal you know where the guest room is"

Instantly there were protests coming out of two mouths but none of the 'adults' in the room were even listening and soon enough they all heard two identical huffs before there were four feet stomping up the stairs.

"I'll see you at the FBI office first thing Monday morning?" Peter asked as he showed Harvey and Jessica out.

"Yeah" Harvey sighed, "Are you sure you don't want me to take Mike?"

"I think they're better off together" El assured, "Besides, Peter knows how to handle Neal just fine I'm sure between the two of us we can handle the two of them"

"If you're sure" Harvey agreed before turning to leave. As they pulled away Harvey couldn't help but wonder what his associate would get into over the weekend. Well it didn't matter, he had the rest of the weekend to himself for relaxation.


End file.
